LearnthecorrectvocabularyandsentencesfororderingfoodinItaly. PODCAST.

Therearesomecommonpractices,setphrasesandwordsyoucanuseanywhere inItaly fororderingfoodandmakeyourselfunderstood. Wearegoingtoseethemtogether.
Lacolazione-Breakfast

Italianbreakfastisverysimple.Peopleeatthecolazioneat homeoratcafeterias(inItalywesimplycallita”bar”).Weusuallyhaveacaffelatte,(coffeeandmilk),cappuccino,orevenasimplecaffèandasweetpastry,abriocheorcornetto(croissant).

InaB&B,a socalledagriturismo, youcaneattastylocalfoodlikesalameandprosciutto,formaggio(cheese)pane(bread)anddolcifattiincasa (homemadecakes)forbreakfast.

Ilpranzo-Lunch

Ilpranzoisusuallylighterthanlacena (supper).Onholiday however,proportionsandportionsarenotundercontrol.Ifyouwantalightmeal,youcaneata paninoconaffettati(delimeatlikeprosciuttoetc) porchetta (spit-roastedpork)formaggio.Youcanaskasalumiere (grocer)toprepareitforyouandfillitthewayyoulikeit.

Anothergoodandcheapoptionisamenùa10euro,ormenùturisticoalunchsetwhichincludesaprimopiatto (pastaorrisotto),secondopiatto-carneopesce (meatorfish), contornodiverdura (patate,pomodori,insalataverde – sidedish,usuallypotatoes,tomatoesorgreensalad),pane(bread)acqua(water)andsometimesevenavinodellacasa,1/4 literof housewine.Uncaffèespressoisalwayspartofit.

Ifyourbudgetallowsafulllunchinatrattoriaorristorante,ofcourseyoucaneatanddrinkasmuchasyouwant.ThecoursesofanItalianmealare:antipasto(appetizer),primo(firstdish),secondo(maindish),contorno(sidedish),formaggio(cheese),dolce(dessert),caffèandifyouarereadytotakeanap,anamaro(typicalItaliantonicliquor).Readytopaythebill?Askthewaiter,Ilcontoperfavore.

Lacena-Supper

Lacenacanberather cheapatapizzeria orexpensiveinanelegantristorante.

Antipasto – Starter

Italiansusually startadinner withsomeappetizers.Weusuallyeataffettati, cheese,andthefamousgrilledvegetablesmarinatedinoliveoil,thesocalledsottolio.

Ifyoupreferfish,especiallyifyouarevisitingaplaceonthecoast,youcanorderanantipastodimare, aselectionofcoldseafoodandfish,pickled in oliveoilandlemon,ormoresophisticatedcoldentries.

Ifyoutrustyourwaiter,andseethatotherpeoplearehavinganiceantipasto,youcanaskfortheantipastodellacasa,aselectionofpopularappetizers.
Primipiatti

ForgetabouttheItaliandishesyoucanfindathome. YouwillneverfindAmerican fettuccineAlfredo ormacaroniandcheese.Italiansdon’tevenknowwhattheyare.

Pastaisking,from theextremenorthtoSicily.Thevarietyofshapes,fillings,saucesandcondimentsishuge.

Risottoisprettycommoneverywherebutitismorepopularin thenorthernpartofthecountry.Pastaisusuallyservedaldente.Ifit’sovercooked wesayitisscotta. Youcanunderstandiftherestaurantisdecentif theyserveyourpastawithaformaggiera, acheesebowl,withgratedparmigianoorpecorino. Askforitifthewaiter forgets.

Nowadaysrestaurantsservinggluten-freepastaareeasytofindinbigcities.

Maybeyou’renotinthemoodforeatingmuchoryouhadaquitecaloriclunch,soyoucanaskthewaiterforasmall portion,ortoshareyourprimopiatto.

Let’srecapwithapodcast:

Vorrei degliaffettati-I’dlikeamixofdelimeat
Vorrei unantipastodimare-I’dlikeaseafoodappetizer
Vorrei unantipastodellacasa-I’dlikesome houseappetizers

Vorrei unapastaalragù/alpesto
Chetipodipastamiconsiglia?Whatkindofpastado yousuggest?
Possoaveredelformaggiograttugiato?CanIhavesomegratedcheese?
Qualeprimodellacasamiconsiglia?
Vorrei unapastaaldente
Avetedellapastasenzaglutine?Doyouhaveglutenfreepasta?
Possiamoavereunaporzioneindue?Canweshareoneportionintwo?
Possoavereunaporzioneabbondante?CanIhavealargeportion?

Ilsecondo-Main course

“Primo”and”secondo”canbeequallyconsideredmaincourses,butthesecondoisfarmorediverse.Meatandfish arethemainingredientsofasecondo.

Ifyouorderasteak,thefamousbisteccafiorentina,grilled t-bonesteak, itoften comesalsangue(literally”bloody”rare),butyoucanhaveitcottaapuntino(medium)orbencotta(welldone).

TheItaliancoastlineisverylong,andsoisthemenuofpesce -fishandfruttidimare -seafood.

Bothmeatandfisharecookedindifferentfashions:bollito-boiled,grigliato-grilled,fritto-fried,inumido-stewed,alvapore-steamed,alforno-intheoven,inpadella-panfried.

Dependingonthemaincourseyoucanaskamatchingcontorno,sidedish.Freshandgreenvegetables(verdura)areas commonas theubiquitouspotatoes.

Qualesecondodicarne/dipescemiconsiglia?
Ilpesceèfrescoosurgelato?(freshorfrozen)
Vorreiunabistecca…
…alsangue,…cottaapuntino,…bencotta
Vorreidelpesce…
…alvapore,…grigliato…inumido,
…bollito,…fritto,…alforno,…inpadella

Percontornovorrei…
…dellepatatealforno/bollite/fritte
…un’insalataverde/mista
…dellaverdurabollita

Bevande-Drinks

Italyisoneofthelargestproducersofwineintheworld.Andmineralwater.Thelatteriseasytoorder.Youcanhaveyouracqua naturale(still)orfrizzante(fizzy).

Youcanorderunacaraffa (apitcher)ofvinodellacasa(housewine)unbicchiere(aglass)orunabottiglia(abottle). Sometimesalocal vinodellacasaischeaperandbetterthanbottledwine.